Justice News

New Jersey Man Sentenced To Prison For Stealing From Charitable Organization

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Ian Finn, age 39, of Summit, New Jersey, was sentenced yesterday to 21 months of imprisonment for a wire fraud conviction arising from his theft of $238,000 from a charity, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special-Agent-in-Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe also ordered Finn to pay restitution of $238,000 to his victim and sentenced him to three years of supervised release to be served after he is released from prison.

As part of his November 2014 guilty plea, Finn admitted that, while serving as the elected corporate treasurer on the Board of Directors for Rensselaer Acacia Corporation, a charitable organization that holds assets for the Acacia Fraternity at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, he stole $238,000 from the organization’s accounts for his personal use and the use of his friends and family. Finn used the stolen funds to pay personal expenses, including for vacations, bar tabs and electronics. Finn attempted to cover up the theft by making misrepresentations to the organization’s Board of Directors over many years.

This case was investigated by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Wayne A. Myers.